MRI, CAT and PET scanners, especially inside the magnet bore, PET tunnel, or CT gantry, are very rarely cleaned because they are very hard to access. In order to clean thoroughly the internal, patient-occupied, scanning areas, one must crawl inside the bore or “tunnel” and clean within a very tight, confined area. Even if the inside of a scanner was more easily accessible, technicians have little time between patient visits (about 5-10 minutes on average) to crawl inside and thoroughly clean these tight spaces. Some of the cleaning products currently on the market, i.e., wipes or disinfectants, simply do not reach the above-described internal, patient-occupied, scanning areas and can be very expensive. As a result, patient scanners are a contamination source and contribute to the spread of resistant bacteria in hospitals.
As a general matter, there is a great public interest in creating cleaner and safer medical environments and, in particular, cleaner medical equipment that routinely contacts patients. To achieve this goal, it is desirable to provide a tool that will reach the internal, patient-occupied, scanning areas of scanners and any other areas where the risk of bacteria contamination may exist. To eliminate cross-contamination, it is also desirable to provide a tool that has a disposable cleaning surface and can be used with a disinfectant or sanitizer that will kill bacteria on contact.
In certain environments such as refineries and mining operations, a requirement exists that any tool used therein be non-sparking. In certain other magnetically-sensitive areas, a requirement exists that any tool used therein be non-magnetic. Thus, it would also be desirable to provide a non-sparking and non-magnetic cleaning tool for that can be used in such environments.